With increasing development of science and technology, various electronic devices (or computers) such as notebook computers, desktop computers or network servers have become indispensable devices in daily lives of people. Generally, during the operation of the electronic device, the temperature of the electronic components of the electronic device gradually increases. The elevated temperature may result in damage of the electronic components. For solving these problems, the electronic device is usually equipped with a heat dissipating mechanism. In accordance with a conventional heat dissipating mechanism, a fan is used to produce airflow to cool the electronic component through convection, or a heat dissipating unit made of a special material is attached on the electronic component to reduce the temperature through thermal conduction. In addition, a water cooling mechanism is one of the effective and common heat dissipating mechanisms.
The operating principles of the water cooling mechanism will be described as follows. Generally, the water cooling mechanism uses liquid (e.g., water or coolant) as the cooling medium, and uses a continuously-running pump to move the liquid within an applied system along a circulating loop. The liquid flows along sealed pipes. The pipes are distributed to the surfaces of the electronic components (e.g., the central processing unit). When the liquid with the lower temperature flows through the electronic component with the higher temperature, the liquid absorbs the heat from the electronic component to decrease the temperature of the electronic component. Then, through heat exchange, the heat is released from the pipes to the surroundings or another heat dissipating mechanism. Consequently, the temperature of the liquid is decreased. Then, the liquid flows back to the system and flows along the circulating loop to remove the heat.
However, the inner space of the electronic device or the computer is limited, and the water cooling mechanism needs pipes for inputting and outputting the fluid. Moreover, since the pipes are usually crooked, the fluid resistance is increased and it is difficult to move the fluid. Therefore, the way of designing the paths of the pipes is important to the water cooling technology.
For effectively utilizing the heat dissipating efficacy of each circulating loop, the pipes of the water cooling mechanism in the system are designed to be simultaneously in contact with plural heat sources (i.e., the electronic components). FIG. 1 is a schematic top view illustrating the architecture of a conventional water cooling mechanism. The water cooling mechanism 100 comprises four water-cooling heads 11, 12, 13 and 14. The inner spaces of the four water-cooling heads 11, 12, 13 and 14 have respective chambers and respective pipes (which are usually made of copper or aluminum) corresponding to the electronic components 15, 16, 17 and 18 so as to remove the heat from the electronic components. The areas of the water-cooling heads 11, 12, 13 and 14 are correlated with the sizes of the electronic components 15, 16, 17 and 18, respectively. Moreover, the electronic components 15, 16, 17 and 18 are in contact with the bottom surfaces of the corresponding electronic components 15, 16, 17 and 18.
As shown in FIG. 1, a liquid flows along a direction indicated by an arrow. The four water-cooling heads 11, 12, 13 and 14 of the water cooling mechanism 100 are connected with each other in series. After the liquid is inputted into the first water-cooling head 11 and outputted from the first water-cooling head 11 by a pump 10, the liquid is inputted into the second water-cooling head 12. The rest may be deduced by analogy. At the time when the liquid is inputted into the first water-cooling head 11, the temperature of the liquid is lower. Consequently, the heat dissipating efficacy is good. However, the heat absorbed and carried by the first water-cooling head 11 cannot be released immediately. That is, the heat is transferred to the second water-cooling head 12, and even transferred to the third water-cooling head 13 and the fourth water-cooling head 14.
In other words, the water-cooling head in the latest stage of the connecting sequence accumulates the greatest amount of heat. That is, the heat dissipating efficacy is the worst. For example, if the heat absorption capability of each water-cooling head as shown in FIG. 1 is 4 degrees Celsius and the three water-cooling heads 11, 12 and 13 simultaneously absorb the heat, the elevated temperature of the latest water-cooling head 14 in serial connection is 16 degrees Celsius according to a simple linear calculation. Under this circumstance, the electronic component is overheated or damaged. As the number of the water-cooling heads that are serially connected with the pipes increases, the amount of the accumulated heat is largely increased.
Therefore, there is a need of providing an improved water-cooling heat dissipating system in order to overcome the drawbacks of the conventional technologies.